A panel of experts that advises the government said that utilities should be responsible for establishing temporary storage facilities for high-level radioactive waste as a prerequisite for restarting their nuclear reactors.

In its report released Thursday, the Science Council of Japan, consisting of scientists, proposed that the government start discussing requiring electric power companies to set up facilities within their regions to store radioactive waste for 30 years, to give the government time to come up with long-term policies to gain public’s support on how to dispose of the waste.

Restarting reactors without clear measures to cope with nuclear waste is irresponsible and will have an impact on future generations, the report said.

Although the panel’s proposals do not have legally binding power, the panel has the authority to advise the government. Its recommendation is likely to spur debate concerning the storage of nuclear waste, as the government’s new safety standards do not at present require utilities to have waste storage facilities in place as a prerequisite for restarting their nuclear reactors.

From a technical point of view, the council said dry cask storage would be the best way to store spent nuclear fuel or vitrified fuel in solidified glass cases.